Picture Perfect
by CM SoGoodItsCriminal
Summary: A series of short stories based on the prompt "Photo". 2nd - Morgan reflects on his relationship with Garcia - by klcm
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Hi everyone. I hope you enjoy this little story. As usual, I don't own a thing. (I really wish I did!)..._

**Picture Perfect Memories** _by Kricket Williams_

"Okay, everyone!" the overly enthusiastic photographer cried out. "Say 'Stinky feet!'"

"Where the hell did they dig this girl up from?" David Rossi asked, his grin still plastered on his face. He was standing exactly like he was supposed to be, lined up behind his assigned bridesmaid.

"It's Pen's cousin," JJ replied from next to Dave. "They must've gotten a deal."

"I thought they got her from the pits of hell to torture us," Emily remarked between her clenched teeth.

Reid let out a small laugh. "She's not that bad."

As if on cue, the photographer knocked her tripod over.

That earned him Prentiss taking a slight step back to jam the point of her heel on Reid's toe.

"Oww!"

"The things we do for love," JJ said softly.

"And we all do really love them," Prentiss added with a smile.

The photographer frowned, looking at her camera. "Oh, we need to retake that. The flash was only at a four and we needed a five. Stay just like that! Don't move a muscle."

"We're a captive audience; what does she expect?" Rossi said out of the corner of his mouth. "That lucky Hotch-he gets to walk Kitten up the aisle, so he only had to be in usher pictures."

"That sounded jealous," JJ remarked.

"Of not standing here?" he questioned incredulously. "Hell, yes."

"Oh, settle down; you can deal," Prentiss said, laughing slightly at Dave's petulant tone.

"I am exhausted!" Seaver groaned, letting the smile come off of her face for the first time in forty minutes. "How many takes has that been? Twenty-five?"

"Twenty-seven, plus three retakes," Reid replied quickly.

"You've lost your smile," Mick commented to Ashley, a teasing grin on his face. "Chin up, stay positive."

"That was very British of you, _Mary Poppins_," Emily clipped, rolling her eyes. There was a touch of love/hate animosity still brewing between Prentiss and the only member from Penelope's other team in the wedding party. "Keep a stiff upper lip and all that."

"Sweetheart, you want to see something stiff," he remarked dryly. "I can show you after the reception."

She turned to glare at him. "In your dreams, Rawson."

Mick's grin was positively lascivious. "I guarantee: naked, you wouldn't be calling me Mary Poppins..."

"God, this _is_ a chatty bunch," Desiree, Derek's sister, remarked, standing in front of her husband, Mark. "Penelope warned me, but I didn't quite believe her."

That got the group to turn and look at her.

"Garcia warned you?" Reid asked, looking somewhat surprised.

"Mmm hmm," Desiree said. "She said that you would all probably be bickering like family."

"Well, I wouldn't quite say-"

"It isn't that-"

"Actually, the term relates more to-"

"Bickering? We don't-"

The bright flash caught them all off guard.

_Weeks later_...

"This is _still_ my favorite picture," Penelope said, her finger lovingly touching her team in the botched picture. She was sitting in her favorite spot, on her husband's lap, looking through their wedding album. "Stasia took a wonderful candid shot."

Looking at all of them, it was pure magic. Reid's hands were poised mid air in explanation. Emily's hands were on her hips and her eyes were flashing fire at Mick- and then he was returning the look with urbane appeal. JJ's had a half grin as if she were about to say some cheeky and perceptive comment. Rossi had a sarcastic quirk to his mouth...and Des and Mark were looking like they were _all_ crazy.

It was their family in a nutshell.

Derek chuckled. "She was creative, I have to give her that."

"It's adorable," Pen gushed, "but I like the formal one, too."

"Wanna know my favorite?" Derek asked.

She turned to look at him. "What one?"

Turning the pages, he stopped on one of her alone in the chapel. The stained glass windows were a colorful silhouette behind her, a bright contrast to her ivory satin dress and fair skin. Her shoulders were bare and her golden hair had been artfully arranged in a coiffure of perfect, yet touchable, curls. The dim lights from the candles burned low all around her, illuminating her skin and hair with a faint glow, and her perfect, gentle smile as she looked at the bouquet of white roses and calla lilies she carried, all contributed to making her look ethereal.

"That one...you look like an angel," he murmured, his voice husky as he met her gaze. "Just like you do now."

"With a slightly crooked halo," she said, smiling softly as she cupped his cheek in her hand. "Come to earth, just for you."

He placed the book aside, and then stood, carrying her in his arms. "Come, my angel. Let's go make another picture perfect memory."

And as he carried her down the hall, they both knew they would be doing just that.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **_So it's been a while for these to be update, oops! Me AND Kricket seem to have ended up with the same title, but when it fits, it fits... and I tried to change it, but nothing seemed to fit so appropriately =)_

**Picture Perfect Memory **_by klcm_

It took just one still shot to sum up his life. One single moment in his life to collectively show everyone his happiness. To show what made his soul, his heart, his entire life. It all lived within the constraints of the frame.

He picked it up as he sat in the silence of his office.

Penelope Garcia was a one hit wonder. She was a one of a kind model and he was thankful to every day that he woke up to have her sleeping beside him. Thanked the lucky stars in his night sky and the God that lived above the clouds for allowing him to have a woman like her in his life.

The years before might have been destructive, full of near misses and wasted opportunities, but they made it. Through rain and shine, through loves and loses they had walked through it all, strengthened the other when it felt incapable to take another step forward and in the end they had conquered more than inner demons and UNSUBs.

He knew, as he looked at Penelope's captured smile, the precious twinkle in her eyes staring back at him, that conquering true love was the hardest thing life had to offer a person. It was certainly the most important, most detrimental, most destructive task in life. Yet once that was found and beaten the rest seemed a breeze.

The rest of life just fell into place.

Letting his vision blur he remembered the day the picture was taken. One day, nothing out of the ordinary, nothing rare, just a day of the two of them, a day that had then taken a turn. One moment they were just messing around, he was tickling her, joking around, she was giggling adorably and then they were on the floor. Puffing and panting as they looked at one another, Penelope trapped beneath Derek.

Then it just happened.

One moment they were looking at one another, Penelope laughing a little still, and then Derek lowered his head and captured her lips and when he felt her react, when he realised she wasn't fighting against him he continued to just kiss her. To just give her his entire heart in those seconds.

There was no awkwardness afterwards, just a sense of completeness. Like they had finally done something right where the other was concerned and since then, since that one kiss, they had only gotten stronger and once they established what they wanted from the other life simply followed suit.

He had to smile; even once they'd transcended openly passed friends he found a new solace in Penelope. She calmed him fully, sated him, moulded him some, shaped him more. He was no longer driven to become the hero, to save the last victim, to risk his life. He supposed that was because now he knew that he really did have someone to come home to.

Unlike all the other times, when Penelope had been there he always knew she was off limits and out of bounds, he knew she wasn't going to be around forever waiting on him. First there Kevin and then afterwards there were the mini flings, but now, there was just him in her life and he had to cherish that as much as she did. He knew if he was to get hurt it wouldn't be just him getting hurt; Penelope would suffer as a result, more so than ever before.

He knew if he did something dangerous and it ended terribly he would end up missing out on so much that he still wanted to do. He wanted the picture perfect memories of his entire life. He wanted the knowledge of what was waiting at home for him every day of his life. He wanted this feeling of contentment, this absolute perfection within him to last, he wanted the chance to wake up and feel it every day. He wanted so many more good mornings with Penelope, and he wanted even better good nights with her too.

And now he knew it was possible. He and Penelope could have the candour of what each day would be like because they had one another. There was no deceit, no duplicity between them like they had spent years storing up.

Just one moment, one private moment, for the pair of them had ended with a kiss and now he was where he needed to be. His life was finally where it needed to be.

Gazing up, he saw that the smile imprinted on photo paper was on the face of Penelope as she stood in the doorway of his office.

"How long you been there, Baby Girl?" He asked as he set the photo down and relaxed back into his chair, a broad smile growing.

"Long enough, my brooding Prince," She told him knowingly and she shot him a sexy grin, "You ever going to leave this office today or am I going to end up sleeping on the couch in here?"

"One more T to cross..."

"Several I's to dot too?" She asked him back and walked in, "Looking at my framed beauty isn't going to get you home to the real deal."

Derek chuckled, "Oh and the picture hasn't anything on the original." He told her back as his eyes roamed up and down her figure, indulging in the curves that he knew were his for the taking whenever he deemed it fit.

"Oh yeah, Hot Stuff, look all you want, but you aren't touching until we're leaving."

Derek's eyes snapped up at her then, his lips pouting at her, "Hmm, if that's how it's going to be then I shouldn't waste time." He said and sighed the last file off and threw it in his outbox. "So Goddess what does tonight hold?"

Penelope smirked as she crossed her arms over her chest, "A little bit of me, a little bit of you," She winked at him and she went to his desk as he grabbed his coat and go bag, "I don't get why you stare at this picture so much." She set it back into its place as she left the room. "I look a mess and yet you're hell bent on staring at it every working day." She watched Derek shut the door and lock it and turn to her, a big smile on his face. "Least have something picture perfect, Handsome."

Derek kissed her temple the moment he had her by his side as they walked to the elevator to leave, "You're picture perfect all the time, Mrs Morgan."

**-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Picture Perfect Memory -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-**


End file.
